CN1658313B - Method of controlling adaptive spindle motor and disk drive using the method - Google Patents

Abstract

A method for controlling a starting current of an adaptive spindle motor in consideration of a maximum allowable consumption power and a disk drive using the same. The method includes measuring a supply voltage provided to the disk drive, calculating a maximum current that can be provided to the spindle motor within a range of maximum allowable power corresponding to the supply voltage measured in the measured supply voltage, and applying the calculated maximum current to the spindle motor to start the spindle motor.

Description

Method of controlling adaptive spindle motor and disk drive using the method

This application claims priority from Korean Patent Application No. 10-2004-0010454 filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on February 17, 2004, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

technical field

The present invention relates to a method and device for controlling a spindle motor used in a disk drive, and more particularly to a method and device for controlling the starting current of an adaptive spindle motor in consideration of the maximum allowable power consumption Disk drives using this method.

Background technique

A typical example of a method for controlling an adaptive spindle motor is disclosed in Korean Patent Publication No. 1998-0014310, which proposes a voltage drop due to excessive current consumption at the time of initial drive or startup of a spindle motor in a disk drive solution to the problem.

Disk drives utilizing a spindle motor may include hard disk drives, CD-ROM drives, DVD drives, and the like. When power is supplied to the disk drive, the disk drive enters an initial mode to drive a spindle motor to rotate the disk. Disk drives have high power consumption during start-up, allowing a suspended disk to start and spin up to the desired speed. Likewise, the disk drive is designed to provide the maximum current to the spindle motor within the maximum available power range.

However, the maximum available power is limited according to the maximum available voltage, and the maximum available current applied to the spindle motor is also limited by the maximum available voltage.

For example, assuming that the disk drive is used with a single power supply of 5V, the allowable supply voltage Vpwr is 4.75V to 5.25V, and the maximum available power Pmax is 5W, the maximum available current is determined according to the maximum allowable supply voltage of 5.25V, and the maximum available current Imax Calculated by Equation 1:

Imax＝Pmax/Vpwr＝5W/5.25V＝0.95A (1)

The starting current for the spindle motor is determined as a result of subtracting the printed circuit board (PCB) current used in the circuit other than the motor from the maximum available current.

Even if the power supply voltage Vpwr is lowered within the allowable range, the starting current of the spindle motor is limited by the maximum available voltage (ie, 5.25V). Thus, a fixed amount of current is applied to the spindle motor even though a greater current could be used (or required) to start the spindle motor. As a result, there is a problem that the time required to increase the rotation speed of the spindle motor to a desired level is prolonged.

Contents of the invention

Accordingly, an aspect of the present invention provides a method for controlling startup of an adaptive spindle motor, by which startup current supplied to the spindle motor is within a range of maximum allowable power consumption even if a power supply voltage supplied to a disk drive is changed. Change according to optimal conditions.

Additional aspects and/or advantages of the invention are set forth in the description which follows and, in part, are obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.

The foregoing and/or other aspects of the present invention may be achieved by providing a method for controlling the activation of a spindle motor used in a disk drive, the method comprising: measuring a supply voltage supplied to the disk drive; Within the range of the maximum allowable power, the maximum current can be supplied to the spindle motor, and the calculated maximum current is applied to the spindle motor to start the spindle motor.

The above and/or other aspects of the present invention can also be achieved by providing a disk drive, the disk drive comprising: a disk for storing information; a spindle motor for rotating the disk; a power supply circuit for providing a desired power supply voltage; An analog/digital converter for converting a power supply voltage supplied from a power supply circuit into a digital signal; a controller for determining a value of the power supply voltage from the digital signal and calculating a maximum allowable power range corresponding to the determined value of the power supply voltage a maximum value of current that can be supplied to the spindle motor; and a spindle driver for generating a starting current of the spindle motor corresponding to the maximum value of current calculated by the controller to apply the starting current to the spindle motor.

Description of drawings

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals denote like elements. The embodiments are described by referring to the figures to explain the present invention.

Fig. 1 is the plan view that adopts the hard disk drive of the embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is the circuit diagram that adopts the hard disk drive of the embodiment of the present invention; And

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling adaptive spindle motor startup according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed ways

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, examples of which are illustrated, in which like reference numerals refer to like elements. The present invention is illustrated by the embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows the structure of a hard disk drive employing the present invention. Hard disk drive 10 includes at least one magnetic disk 12 that is rotated by a spindle motor 14 . Hard disk drive 10 also includes a transducer 16 positioned near the surface of disk 12 .

Transducer 16 detects and magnetizes the magnetic field of disk 12 to read information from and write information to disk 12 . Transducer 16 is coupled to surface 18 of disc 12 . A single transducer 16 is illustrated in FIG. 1 , but actually includes a write transducer for magnetizing the disk 12 and a read transducer for detecting the magnetic field of the disk 12 . The read transducer consists of a magnetoresistive (MR) device. Converter 16 is commonly referred to as a head.

The converter 16 can be integrated into the slide 20 . Slider 20 is used to form an air bearing between converter 16 and surface 18 of disc 12 . The slider 20 is incorporated in a head bracket assembly 22 attached to a drive arm 24 with a voice coil 26 . Voice coil 26 is positioned adjacent magnetic assembly 28 to define a voice coil motor (VCM) 30 . Current supplied to voice coil 26 generates a torque for rotating drive arm 24 relative to bearing assembly 32 . Rotation of the actuator arm 24 moves the transducer 16 back and forth across the surface 18 of the disc 12 .

Information is typically stored in circular tracks 34 on disc 12, and each track 34 includes a plurality of sectors. Each sector includes a data field and an identification field, and the identification field has a gray code to identify the sector and the track (cylinder). Transducer 16 traverses across surface 18 of disc 12 to read information from or write information to other tracks.

FIG. 2 shows a circuit diagram of a hard disk drive employing an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2 , the hard disk drive of the present invention includes a PCB assembly 210 , a power circuit 220 , a spindle motor 230 , a converter 240 and a voice coil 250 . Hard disk drive and spindle motor 230 correspond to hard disk drive 10 and spindle motor 14 of FIG. 1 , however these elements are renumbered in FIG. 2 for ease of illustration.

The PCB assembly 210 includes a voltage divider circuit 210-1, an analog/digital converter 210-2, a controller 210-3, a memory 210-4, a spindle driver 210-5, a preamplifier 210-6, and a read/write channel circuit 210 -7. Interface circuit 210-8 and VCM driver 210-9.

Various programs and data for controlling the hard disk drive, and programs and data for realizing the flowchart of FIG. 3 are stored in the memory 210-4.

The preamplifier 210-6 includes an amplification circuit for amplifying a signal detected by the converter 240; a read current control circuit for supplying an optimum read current to the converter 240; and a write current control circuit for supplying a write current .

The power circuit 220 inputs alternating current (AC) power, and rectifies the AC power to generate direct current (DC) power required by the hard disk drive.

First, the general operation of the hard disk drive will be described.

In data read mode, the hard disk drive amplifies electrical signals detected from the disk by transducers 240 (called heads). The write/read pass-through circuit 210-7 encodes the amplified analog signal into a digital signal that can be decoded by a host device (not shown), and converts the encoded signal into a data stream to pass the converted signal through the interface circuit 210-8 sent to the host device.

In the data write mode, the hard disk drive receives data through the interface circuit 210-8, converts the received data into a binary data stream compatible with the recording channel using the write/read channel circuit 210-7, which will be transmitted by the preamplifier 210- 6 The amplified write current is written to the disk through converter 240.

The controller 210-3 generally controls the hard disk drive to analyze commands received through the interface circuit 210-8, and then implements the designated commands. The controller 210-3 is also connected to the VCM driver 210-9 to provide driving current to the voice coil 250, thereby applying a control signal to the VCM driver 210-9 to control the excitation of the VCM and the movement of the transducer 240.

If the power supply voltage Vpwr is supplied to the PCB assembly 210, the power supply voltage Vpwr is divided by the voltage dividing circuit 210-1, and converted into a digital signal by the A/D converter 210-2 to apply the digital signal to the controller 210-3. Voltage circuit 210-1 can be excluded.

Before starting the spindle motor 230, the controller 210-3 determines the value of the supply voltage from the supply voltage converted into a digital signal. The maximum value current supplied to the spindle motor 230 within the maximum allowable power range may be calculated from the determined value of the power supply voltage.

First, before starting the spindle motor, the total PCB current Ipcb for the PCB assembly 210 is calculated according to the determined value of the supply voltage.

From the table where the PCB current is monitored and stored in advance for a constant unit supply voltage change, the PCB current Ipcb can be calculated. Alternatively, it can also be calculated as a function of the roughly calculated supply voltage from the experimentally calculated supply voltage-PCB current graph.

When power is applied, the power consumption P of the hard disk drive is expressed by Equation 2:

P＝Ipcb×Vpwr+Ispm×Vpwr≤Pmax (2)

In Equation 2, when power is supplied, the power consumption P should be equal to or less than the maximum allowable power Pmax. Ispm represents the starting current of the spindle motor.

Ispm≤(Pmax-Ipcb×Vpwr)/Vpwr (3)

Then, the maximum current Ispm satisfying Equation 3 is calculated to obtain the value of the maximum current to be supplied to the spindle motor 230 .

The spindle driver 210-5 generates a starting current for the spindle motor, which corresponds to the maximum current value calculated by the controller 210-3, to apply the starting current to the spindle motor 230, thereby starting the spindle motor.

A method of controlling activation of an adaptive spindle motor according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to flowchart 3 .

When supplying power to the hard disk drive, the power supply voltage Vpwr applied from the power supply circuit 220 is determined before the spindle motor 230 is started (S301).

Before the spindle motor 230 is started, the complete PCB current Ipcb for the PCB assembly 210 is determined (S302).

The PCB current Ipcb can be determined from a table, in case the PCB current is detected and stored in advance with respect to constant units or increments of supply voltage variation. Alternatively, the PCB current can also be calculated as a function of the roughly calculated supply voltage from the experimentally calculated supply voltage-PCB current graph.

Then, the maximum available starting current Ismp(max) of the spindle motor is determined from Equation 3 (S303).

A current corresponding to Ismp(max) obtained from step S303 is applied to the spindle motor 230 through the spindle driver 210-5 to start the spindle motor 230.

Using the above method, if the voltage used for the hard drive is less than the maximum available voltage, the spindle motor can use more starting current. If the starting current of the spindle motor is increased, the torque of the spindle motor can be increased, thereby shortening the time required for the spindle motor's rotational speed to reach a desired level.

Since existing disk drives use a brushless motor as a spindle motor, a separate rotation detection sensor is not utilized. Likewise, when starting the spindle motor, by energizing the spindle motor at appropriate time intervals, the rotational speed of the spindle motor is increased to a counter emf measurable speed. If through the above steps, the rotational speed of the spindle motor does not increase to the measurable speed of the electromotive force of the counter, repeat the above processing. The time for the spindle motor's rotational speed to reach the desired level is extended. Therefore, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the starting current of the spindle motor can be maximized within the range of the maximum allowable power consumption, which can reduce the probability of repeating the above steps.

As described above, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the maximum allowable start-up current of the spindle motor is calculated according to the supply voltage supplied to start the spindle motor in consideration of the maximum allowable power consumption of the disk drive, thereby shortening the time required for the spindle motor to reach a desired rotational speed. time.

The embodiments of the present invention can be implemented through methods, devices, systems, and the like. If implemented by software, a code segment for performing the necessary operations is used. The program or code segments can be stored in a processor-readable medium, or can be transmitted via a transmission medium or a communication network by a computer data signal combined with a carrier. A processor-readable medium includes any medium that can store or transmit information. Examples of processor-readable media are electronic circuits, semiconductor memory devices, ROM, flash memory, rewritable ROM, floppy disks, optical disks, hard disks, fiber optic media, radio frequency (RF) networks, and the like. A computer data signal includes any signal that may be transmitted over a transmission medium such as an electronic network channel, fiber optics, air, electromagnetic fields, RF networks, and the like.

While the invention has been shown and described with reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that modifications may be made to the invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. The invention undergoes various modifications in form and detail.

Claims (18)

1. A starting method for controlling a spindle motor used in a disk drive, the method comprising: Measuring the supply voltage supplied to the disk drive; Calculate the maximum current that can be supplied to the spindle motor within the range of maximum allowable power corresponding to the measured supply voltage; and apply the calculated maximum current to the spindle motor to start the spindle motor, The calculation of the maximum current includes: Calculate the printed circuit board PCB power consumption value consumed by the disk drive instead of the spindle motor from the measured supply voltage; and Determine the starting current value of the spindle motor by dividing the value obtained by subtracting the value of PCB power consumption from the maximum allowable power by the measured supply voltage. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein calculating PCB power consumption comprises: Calculate the PCB current supplied to the disk drive instead of the spindle motor from the measured supply voltage; and Calculate the value of the PCB power dissipation by multiplying the calculated PCB current with the measured supply voltage. 3. The method of claim 2, wherein calculating the PCB current comprises: The PCB current is determined from a table in which the PCB current with respect to a supply voltage change of a constant unit is detected and stored in advance. 4. The method of claim 2, wherein calculating the PCB current comprises: The PCB current is determined as a function of the supply voltage calculated from the supply voltage-PCB current graph. 5. A disk drive comprising: disk for storing information; Spindle motor for rotating the disc; A power circuit for providing an ideal power supply voltage; an analog/digital converter for converting the supply voltage supplied from the power supply circuit into a digital signal; a controller for determining a value of the supply voltage according to the digital signal, and calculating a maximum value of current that can be supplied to the spindle motor within an allowable power range corresponding to the determined value of the supply voltage; and a spindle driver for generating a starting current of the spindle motor corresponding to a current maximum value calculated by the controller to apply the starting current to the spindle motor, wherein the controller calculates a value of PCB power consumption used by the controller from the determined supply voltage, and divides a value obtained by subtracting the PCB power consumption value from the maximum allowable power by the determined supply voltage value to obtain The resulting value is determined as the maximum current value to be supplied to the spindle motor. 6. The disk drive of claim 5, further comprising a voltage dividing circuit between the power supply circuit and the A/D converter. 7. The disk drive of claim 5, wherein the PCB current supplied to the controller is calculated from the determined supply voltage, and the PCB power consumption is calculated by multiplying the PCB current by the determined supply voltage. 8. The disk drive of claim 7, wherein the PCB current is determined based on a table in which previously detected PCB currents with respect to a constant unit of supply voltage variation are stored. 9. The disk drive of claim 7, wherein the PCB current is determined as a function of the supply voltage approximately calculated from a supply voltage-PCB current graph. 10. A method for controlling a motor used in an apparatus to read data from or write data to an optical storage medium, the method comprising: determine the voltage supplied to the device; and Determine the maximum current to be supplied to the motor from the determined voltage, Where determining the maximum current includes determining the maximum current, such that the Ispm≤(Pmax-Ipcb×Vpwr)/Vpwr in: Ispm is the maximum current that will be supplied to the motor, Pmax is the maximum available power of the device, Ipcb is the total PCB current used in the unit's printed circuit board PCB assembly rather than the motor, and Vpwr is a defined voltage. 11. The method of claim 10, wherein determining the maximum current further comprises determining the maximum current using a value Vpwr that is less than a maximum allowable voltage of the device. 12. The method of claim 10, further comprising: Starting the motor based on the determined maximum current includes applying the determined maximum current to the motor via the spindle drive. 13. The method of claim 10, further comprising: Ipcb is determined from a table in which Ipcb with respect to a supply voltage change of a constant unit is detected and stored in advance. 14. The method of claim 10, further comprising: Ipcb is determined according to the determination function of Ipcb-supply voltage. 15. The method of claim 12, wherein starting the motor further comprises: Start the motor after determining the maximum current. 16. The method of claim 10, wherein the motor is a brushless motor. 17. The method of claim 10, wherein the motor is a spindle motor. 18. A device for driving a disk, comprising: an electric motor for turning the disc; and a controller for calculating the maximum value of the current supplied to the motor based on the maximum allowable power and the determined value of the voltage supplied to the device, wherein said controller calculates the value of PCB power consumption used by the controller from the voltage determination value, and divides the value obtained by subtracting the PCB power consumption value from the maximum allowable power by the voltage determination value The value of is determined as the maximum current value.